Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Loricariidae (Armored catfishes) > Hypostominae
Etymology: Hypostomus: Greek, hypo = under + Greek, stoma = mouth (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Dr Philibert Commerson (1727–1773) was known as ‘doctor, botanist and naturalist of the King’. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Valenciennes.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Subtropical
South America: Lower Paraná including the Iguazú, Paraguay, Río de la Plata and Dulce Rivers.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 60.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 79585); max. published weight: 1.8 kg (Ref. 79585)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 4. This species is distinguished by the following characters: teeth bifid teeth (vs. spoon-shaped); dark spots on a light background (vs light spots on a dark background or not spotted); 4 rough lateral ridges on flanks (vs. absent); 26-29 lateral series plates (vs. < 28 in several species, 31-32 in H. laplatae); 1-2 plates bordering posterior margin of the supraoccipital bone (vs. 3-4 in H. laplatae); differs from H. affinis, H. punctatus, H. ancistroides by having inter-dorsal distance 14.4-19.5% in SL (vs. 18.9-21.0%); head depth 49.0-71.6% in HL (vs. 48.2-49.9); differs from H. spiniger by having fine lateral ridges with odontodes posteriorly inclined (vs. large lateral ridges with odontodes in all directions), weak lateral ridges in caudal peduncle (vs. strong), mid lateral ridge from first plate (vs. ridge from 2nd or 3rd plates); adult of this species (> 12.0 cm SL) can be distinguished from adult H. spiniger by having a strong ridge on temporal plate (vs. very week) (Ref. 121236).
Facultative air-breathing in the genus (Ref. 126274); Occurs in rivers where substrate from which specimens were obtained was composed chiefly of muddy sand. This species was found in moderately oxygenated waters (6.1-9.1 mg/l) with moderate current; water turbidity 23.7-442 NTU, conductivity 1.087-2.654 μS/cm, pH 7.2-9.2, and temperature 16.8-27.8°C (Ref. 121236).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Cardoso, Y.P., F. Brancolini, L. Protogino, A. Paracampo, S. Bogan, P. Posadas and J.I. Montoya-Burgos, 2019. An integrated approach clarifies the cryptic diversity in Hypostomus Lacépède 1803 from the Lower La Plata Basin. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciéncias 91(2):e20180131: [1-25]. (Ref. 121236)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO -
